Columnist: Lego builds a better mom

As you're watching the plastic brick flick, you begin to absorb the meaning which is presented in a funny way (most of the time) and definitely meant for neat-nick parents. It made me think of how many times I'd shrieked at my kids to "pick up these Lego pieces!"

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By SARAH BRENTYN

capecodtimes.com

By SARAH BRENTYN

Posted Feb. 28, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By SARAH BRENTYN
Posted Feb. 28, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

A Lego movie. Ugh. Really? Well, I have two little boys, one truly obsessed with those little plastic blocks so we saw the movie. A parental sacrifice is how I viewed it. Of course, I thought this film would be a bunch of Lego pieces creating the background and Lego figures "acting". I thought it would be stupid. Eye candy at best.

And it was eye candy. Everything made out of Lego pieces"»pretty impressive, really. But, surprise, it actually had a story line. And, gasp, a message. A kids' movie with a message. Huh. Not that I haven't seen those but it's just not what I was expecting from this particular one.

As you're watching the plastic brick flick, you begin to absorb the meaning which is presented in a funny way (most of the time) and definitely meant for neat-nick parents. It made me think of how many times I'd shrieked at my kids to "pick up these Lego pieces!" after I'd stepped on yet another brick for the hundredth time. Man, those things are tiny weapons for grown-up feet. (Kids never seem to step on them — it's like they have Lego radar or something.) Or the time, quite recently, I watched my little one roll his Lego moon buggy over to his Ninjago figures to help them fight the stuffed animal Angry Bird pigs. I stopped short and, before I knew it, I was commenting. "Um, why is there an astronaut with your ninjas?"

"He's helping them fight the pigs." He answered plainly as if I should know.

"But"»he's an astronaut." I retorted plainly as if he should know.

"So?"

So indeed. Why should I care if a spaceman is joining forces with ninjas to defeat some egg-stealing pigs? I shouldn't. And wouldn't that be nice — for me and for my kids. I let it go but still, I admit, thought briefly about buying some more ninjas or another space set so the Lego pieces could be segregated. Really?! Yes, I did. Worlds colliding! SpongeBob with Superheroes? Alien Conquest with The Lone Ranger? Ah! Make it stop! Deep breath. My kid is being creative and having fun. I went and got a piece of chocolate. All was well.

So, back to the movie. Will Ferrell delivers as a serious(ly) funny determined dad who demands that his son understand the don't-touch, off-limits, everything-in-its-place attitude. Ferrell also lends his voice to the Lego character, "Lord Business," the nefarious leader who needs that perfection and order I was just mentioning. If you're anything like that, you'll find yourself represented in this flick as that villain who does some pretty nasty stuff in his quest to keep order in Legoland. So, at the end of the movie, when you're done blubbering about being the bad guy, you realize something cool — you're not alone. Would Lego spend obnoxious amounts of money creating a movie that spoke to a few scattered parents here and there? I think not.

The message is not muddled and certainly not hidden from viewers as the dad flat-out asks his kid if "the bad guy" is, in fact, the one who wants everything to be neat and tidy. The kid says yes. With only a little hesitation. And there you have it. A message to all of us parents who make our kids pick up after themselves but might go a bit too far or the parents who don't let their kids make a mess in the first place. Lego says: Let them play. Look how happy they are messing everything up. Watch the wonder on their faces as they take apart something you don't want them touching and put it back together in a completely creative crazy new way. Lego says "let them be kids" and I find myself listening. I find myself allowing a toy company's colorful, fun, action-packed movie-length commercial to tell me how to parent my kids.

While I still have a little of Lord Business inside, I stop myself as I'm about to gasp and tell my kids not to take apart that Lego castle it took two days to build. I cringe internally, but who knows what they might make with it? Everything is awesome!

Sarah Brentyn is a mom, freelance writer and blogger who enjoys good books and good wine. Email her at sarahbrentyn@gmail.com.